Partially blocking inflammatory receptor could lead to treatment for osteoarthritis
Partially blocking a receptor that helps regulate the activity of the inflammatory cytokine molecule interleukin-6 (IL-6) seems to promote tissue regeneration and block degeneration in a model of osteoarthritis. As reported in the March 22, 2023, issue of Science Translational Medicine, the receptor, called glycoprotein 130 (gp130), regulates both positive and negative inflammatory responses that can help regenerate tissue, but also cause degeneration.

RHOJ protein helps skin cancer resist chemotherapy
RHOJ, a small GTPase, could hold the key to the survival of tumor cells during cancer treatments. When epithelial cells transformed into mesenchymal cells, the Rho-related GTP-binding protein RhoJ regulated their resistance to chemotherapy. The scientists observed this mechanism in mouse models of skin squamous cell carcinoma, but their results could go beyond just one type of cancer. When the team started its experiments, which were published March 23, 2023, in Nature, “I had never heard about RHOJ before,” the lead author Cédric Blanpain told BioWorld. Blanpain is the director of the Laboratory of Stem Cells and Cancer at the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB).

Partially blocking inflammatory receptor could lead to treatment for osteoarthritis
Partially blocking a receptor that helps regulate the activity of the inflammatory cytokine molecule interleukin-6 (IL-6) seems to promote tissue regeneration and block degeneration in a model of osteoarthritis. As reported in the March 22, 2023, issue of Science Translational Medicine, the receptor, called glycoprotein 130 (gp130), regulates both positive and negative inflammatory responses that can help regenerate tissue, but also cause degeneration.
RHOJ protein helps skin cancer resist chemotherapy
RHOJ, a small GTPase, could hold the key to the survival of tumor cells during cancer treatments. When epithelial cells transformed into mesenchymal cells, the Rho-related GTP-binding protein RhoJ regulated their resistance to chemotherapy. The scientists observed this mechanism in mouse models of skin squamous cell carcinoma, but their results could go beyond just one type of cancer. When the team started its experiments, which were published March 23, 2023, in Nature, “I had never heard about RHOJ before,” the lead author Cédric Blanpain told BioWorld. Blanpain is the director of the Laboratory of Stem Cells and Cancer at the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB).
A novel CAPN2-targeting ASO, AMX-0114, rescues neurite degeneration in vitro
Calcium-dependent protease calpain-2 (CAPN2) has been previously proposed as a critical effector of axonal degeneration, which is a key early...
Lanzhou University researchers identify novel anti-TrxR curcumin analogue
Uncontrolled growth, invasion and angiogenesis are malignant characteristics of cancer cells mediated by increased reactive oxygen species...
Stealth Biotherapeutics presents preclinical data for SBT-272 in neurodegeneration
SBT-272 (Stealth Biotherapeutics Inc.) is a small molecule for treating mitochondrial dysfunction in neurodegenerative disorders, and the function...
Moderna and Generation Bio collaborate to develop nonviral genetic medicines
Moderna Inc. and Generation Bio Co. have entered into a strategic collaboration to combine Moderna’s biological and technical expertise...
Targeting GPR10 as therapeutic strategy for obesity
It has been previously demonstrated that disruption of brain-expressed G protein-coupled receptor-10 (GPR10) causes obesity in animals...
Kunshan Xinyunda Biotechnology patents new antibody-drug conjugates for cancer
Kunshan Xinyunda Biotechnology Co. Ltd. has disclosed antibody-drug conjugates comprising an antibody linked to cytotoxic drug through a linker...

JNJ-26366821 repairs acetaminophen-induced liver injury in mice

Acetaminophen (APAP) is a very common nonprescription analgesic, harmless at low doses, that can cause acute liver injury and even death from acute liver failure when overdosed. The temporal course of acetaminophen overdose-induced liver injury (AILI) can be depicted in two stages – injury and...

Illustration demonstrating muscle contraction in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Cav2 calcium channel modifier GV-58 shows beneficial effects in experimental ALS

Neurology/Psychiatric

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurodegenerative disease characterized by failure of motor neurons that lead to paralysis. To date, no treatment exists for ALS that focuses on improving neuromuscular transmission, which would improve quality of life for ALS patients.

SLC6A19 inhibition as a strategy for PKU treatment

Endocrine/Metabolic

Phenylketonuria (PKU) is an autosomal recessive disorder where the primary catabolic pathway for phenylalanine (Phe) is disrupted due to mutations in the gene encoding PAH. Elevated Phe levels lie behind several neuropathologic anomalies that can lead to severe and irreversible mental retardation,...

Identification of pathogenic GDF1 variant using molecular diagnosis in a patient with heterotaxy syndrome

Biomarkers

Researchers from Baylor College of Medicine presented data from postnatal testing with the aim of providing molecular diagnosis for a patient with prenatally diagnosed heterotaxy syndrome.

Biohaven licenses ex-China rights to Highlightll’s TYK2/JAK1 inhibitor for neurological disorders

License

Biohaven Ltd. has acquired global rights, excluding China regions, from Hangzhou Highlightll Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. for TLL-041, now designated BHV-8000, an oral, brain-penetrant, highly selective, dual TYK2/JAK1 inhibitor, for neurological disorders.

Hangzhou Healzen Therapeutics presents new KCNQ2/3 potassium channel activators

Patents

Hangzhou Healzen Therapeutics Co. Ltd. has divulged potassium voltage-gated channel subfamily KQT member 2/3 (KCNQ2/3) activators reported to be useful for the treatment of epilepsy, among others.

Artivila Therapeutics describes new SARM1 inhibitors

Patents

Artivila Therapeutics (Shenzhen) Co. Ltd. has identified NAD(+) hydrolase SARM1 (SAMD2; MyD88-5) inhibitors reported to be useful for the treatment of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, multiple sclerosis, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and peripheral neuropathy.

Nurexone reports recovery of mice with spinal cord injuries after intranasal Exopten delivery

Nurexone Biologic Inc. has released further results from a preclinical study of Exopten demonstrating effective treatment of 75% of paralyzed rats suffering from spinal cord injuries.

Small-molecule activators of KCC2 reduce neuronal excitability, show efficacy in benzodiazepine-resistant status epilepticus

The neuron-specific K+/Cl- co-transporter KCC2 is involved in the shift from depolarizing to hyperpolarizing γ-aminobutyric acid receptor (GABAAR) currents and subsequent synaptic inhibition.

Condensates allow gut bacteria to adapt to the lean life

Microbiome

Gut bacteria used liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) to organize themselves into condensates, which allowed them to adapt to nutrient deprivation, enabling them to colonize the gut. In experiments reported in the March 17, 2023, issue of Science...

Silencing Timm13 reduces the expression of profibrogenic and apoptosis-related gene in mouse hepatocytes

Researchers from the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University presented data from a study that aimed to assess the association between translocase of the inner mitochondrial membrane 13 (Timm13) and liver fibrosis.

Hepatocyte-specific SRSF1 knockout triggers NASH-like pathology in mice

Endocrine/Metabolic

Researchers from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have published data from a study designed to assess the role of serine-arginine-rich splicing factor 1 (SRSF1) in hepatocyte function and survival.

I-FABP and sCD14, markers of GI permeability that are elevated in patients with idiopathic anaphylaxis

Conferences

Since episodes of idiopathic anaphylaxis (IA) are often accompanied by gastrointestinal (GI) manifestations, researchers from the National Institutes of Health aimed to investigate whether surrogate markers of GI permeability are aberrant in...

TREM-1 as a novel therapeutic target for the treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases

Conferences

Researchers from Celsius Therapeutics Inc...

Identification of new risk-associated loci in primary sclerosing cholangitis

Biomarkers

Primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) is a rare chronic and progressive autoimmune bile duct disease that is strongly associated with several immune-mediated disorders, the shared etiology and underlying characteristics of which is not completely...

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